Any criminal charges against Tuter are still pending with the Dallas County district attorney's office.

Mesquite police passed the results of their investigation the DA's office months ago, and DA's office spokeswoman Debbie Denmon says the case has yet to go to a grand jury.

Original entry:

A Garland police officer was fired this morning after an investigation into an Aug. 31 shooting in which he shot 41 times at a fleeing suspect.

Authorities say Officer Patrick Tuter shot and killed Michael Vincent Allen of Wylie after a 30-minute high-speed chase that began in Garland and ended in a Mesquite cul-de-sac. The 25-year-old suspect was unarmed at the time.

The seven-year veteran of the force, who said that he felt threatened when he opened fire on Allen's pickup, had been under investigation by Garland police internal affairs ever since last fall's shooting.

“Tuter has been fired because he was found in violation of two general orders of our department,” Garland police spokesman Joe Harn said. “He violated our pursuit policy as well as our use of force policy.”

Tuter began chasing Allen because he was wanted for running from Sachse police days earlier. The officer told investigators that he opened fire at Allen because he thought the suspect had a gun.

"At some point, while trying to prevent the suspect from making an escape, Officer Tuter did feel in fear for his life and was justified in firing his weapon," Tuter’s attorney, John Snider, said at the time.

Dashboard cameras later revealed that Tuter slammed his squad car into Allen’s truck, then cornered the suspect and fired 41 shots from his department-issued semiautomatic weapon, pausing to reload twice.

Allen’s family has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Tuter. The lawsuit says that since Allen was unarmed and did not pose a threat, Tuter’s use of force was extreme for the situation.